Now that the roster is in place, where’s the team’s weakness(es)?

[MTBingNinja]

Taking a step back, where’s the team’s weakness going into next season?

 

[nadavtheman]

Proven front court depth

 

[PlayItLeo]

Traditional low-post offense. We were blessed to have a big man with the footwork of a ballet dancer for the last 3 years, and he bailed us out of poor offensive possessions a LOT. Not to mention, he was an exceptional finisher.

DC was essentially a rim-runner/alley-oop threat this past season, so hopefully he develops some moves when his back is to the basket this summer.

 

[navery12]

Backup at the 5. Samson has shown nothing in 2 years and Singare is very raw. I'm sure one of them will step up, but right now that's the only weakness I see. We're 2-3 deep at every other spot, and have lots of guys with complementary skill sets

 

[GlastonTim]

I could see a drop in offensive rebounding. The guards will have to crash the boards to maintain the advantage they had last year.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Losing.

 

[UofCT]

I don’t think we will be a good team to bet against.

 

[navery12]

I could see a drop in offensive rebounding. The guards will have to crash the boards to maintain the advantage they had last year.

2 reasons why I'm not even slightly concerned about offensive rebounds.

1. Tom Moore is still here. His teams at Quinnipiac were always one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, even when they were one of the smallest teams in D1. And that's continued at UConn where we've been elite every season

2. We're going to be a really big team. Clingan was at a 19.9% Offensive Rebound % last year which would have been #2 in the country behind Zach Edey (Sanogo was at 11.7%) last year. Our starting backcourt is also gonna be really big with Spencer at 6'4, Newton at 6'5, and Castle at 6'7. I expect us to dominate offensive rebounds again

 

[TheHorde]

Proven experience behind Clingan especially if he gets into foul trouble in a big spot.

 

[Umami Zen]

How quickly does our second unit become reliable and dependable..?? Young/inexperienced but highly talented.. Last year's team had two 1,000 pt CBB career scorers coming off the bench.. A freshman who could have been a first round pick (DC).. And a role player with major college experience (HD).. No concern about our first unit.

How good are we going to be on the Boards?? Great overall size in first unit but no bangers except for DC.. Rebound by committee??

 

[TheHorde]

Overall physicality and strength on the frontline. I’m hoping our bigs spend a lot of time in the weight room this summer. Getting Sanogo’s physique isn’t realistic, but the work will be needed with this schedule and the Big East as loaded as it is.

 

[M.S.G.]

The big issues IMO are frontcourt depth and just depth in general.

This recruiting class appears to be outstanding on paper and have limitless potential, but outside of those 4 kids off the bench our only other returning bench players are SF and HD - one played a short amount and the other hardly saw the floor at all..

 

[Jaydumo20]

I think we will miss the 1 in a million type player that AJax was. But that is only from a fan's perspective: no other school had him either so I wouldn't call his absence a weakness. Only that we will look very different without that unique ability.
Hard to find a tangible weakness in this bunch though, and it makes for a relaxing summer.

 

[Kenny11]

Bench experience is our weakness. And later in the season bench talent may be a strength.

 

[dennismenace]

Proven experience behind Clingan especially if he gets into foul trouble in a big spot.

The Sanogo/Clingan tag team will be impossible to replace fully. I can't remember a 1-2 punch like that ever in the post. However, despite his lack of experience I expect Youssouf Singare to work his way into minutes because of his aggression. I expect to see that raw aggression translated on the boards and challenging shots. If he can provide a solid 10- 15 mins rest for Clingan especially on the defensive end we should be fine. I hope for a pleasant surprise from Sampson but not counting on it as yet. If they can share that backup well for Clingan and some minutes to spell Karaban we should be fine. One or both will be necessary because Clingan will be targeted for foul trouble. That's a lot of if's but this staff and the competitiveness of the program have high standards and they seek to recruit kids that will fit that profile. We are lacking experience there so your point is well taken. I just have a feeling about Singare and his edge. Looking for that junkyard dog toughness. I think he's got it.

 

[cullaville]

Can we wait and see how this teams plays when the season begins. This will likely be a team with a different style than last year. I believe Hurley will adjust to the strengths of the 2023 - 2024 roster

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative

 

[Marat]

I could see a drop in offensive rebounding. The guards will have to crash the boards to maintain the advantage they had last year.

Weren't we the top offensive rebounding team by the end of the season? Of course It's hard to duplicate.

 

[nycscooby]

We have five freshmen coming in, at least two and up to four of them will play significant minutes right away. Always a bit of an unknown there no matter how highly ranked they may be.

Agree that we have no real idea about Samson? So front court depth could be a weakness. Hoping that DC cleans up the fouling a bit.

I am a bit worried about turnovers but I only caught a few mins of Castle in the burger game.

 

[TheHorde]

Weren't we the top offensive rebounding team by the end of the season? Of course It's hard to duplicate.

Except Sanogo and Jackson are gone. Not to say that other guys and new additions can’t step up and fill the void, but they’ll need to show it.

 

[wingsfan055]

Lack of frontline toughness and scoring. Sanogo was the biggest loss or maybe reworded as the hardest to replace. UConn could win multiple ways last year. Thats why they won the Title. Cant be 1-dimensional on offense.

 

[BuffaloHusky]

I think the offense is going to look significantly different with more pick and roll combinations and drive and kicks. As long as André was on the court neither was that effective compared to other sets because his drives weren’t respected enough and he wasn’t really able to pick and pop. This roster is much more apt to get downhill and that will open the kicks to the wings and finishes at the rim.

 

[Sick Puppy]

I want to be surprised by bench points and depth.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I’m just interested at what the on court hierarchy is going to look like.

Felt like last year it was clearly Sanogo, Hawkins, Jackson and everyone else fell in line from there. It made sense too because they were all the most talented guys on the team.

 

[jayfromfla]

The Sanogo/Clingan tag team will be impossible to replace fully. I can't remember a 1-2 punch like that ever in the post. However, despite his lack of experience I expect Youssouf Singare to work his way into minutes because of his aggression. I expect to see that raw aggression translated on the boards and challenging shots. If he can provide a solid 10- 15 mins rest for Clingan especially on the defensive end we should be fine. I hope for a pleasant surprise from Sampson but not counting on it as yet. If they can share that backup well for Clingan and some minutes to spell Karaban we should be fine. One or both will be necessary because Clingan will be targeted for foul trouble. That's a lot of if's but this staff and the competitiveness of the program have high standards and they seek to recruit kids that will fit that profile. We are lacking experience there so your point is well taken. I just have a feeling about Singare and his edge. Looking for that junkyard dog toughness. I think he's got it.

Ever hear of bill Walton and Sven nater? 1972-1974

 

[Hurleyman216]

I think getting 30 minutes or more from Clingan if we can get it is going to make us more dangerous than last year. He’s so disruptive in defense that if he can stay out of foul trouble we are going to be really really good. Backup 5 is our weakness. What will make or break our season is ultimately how quickly Hurley can get the freshman to buy into his system. If there’s even one bad apple in that stellar recruiting class in terms of attitude it could be our Achilles. Trusting the staff can mesh the young guys in with our experience.